Mumbai, July 22 (IANS): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its tie-up with the British Council to enhance the communication skills of its umpires as part of a development programme on Wednesday.

BCCI will be hosting an English language upskilling course as part of its umpire development programme, a release from the governing body said. The 10-day course will be conducted in Mumbai from Thursday by trainer Richard John Cox. The first batch of the course will have 20 umpires.

The course has been designed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) along with the British Council.

"The BCCI recognises that a command on the English language is needed for umpires to communicate effectively with players of different nationalities. This is important in the overall development of our umpires and will go a long way in ensuring that the players and the umpires will understand each other and build a healthy relationship," BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This will not only help the umpires in brushing up their communication skills but will augur well to reach a common understanding in all aspects. There will be an initial assessment of each of the participants before the course starts and another one at the end of the year to measure the success of the programme," he added.